More Clever Than Sneaky
by C.A. Crest
Summary: Keller Frost one day finds she no ordinary kid, but what's more, she finds that she has a brother! Not to mention a whole cabin of half siblings at a camp for demigods!But is she really like them?
1. Chapter 1

It was lunch time and I was heading to lunch with my best friend Stella La Bode. She was the only friend I had in this school, the rest of them were stuck up snobs. But what else do you expect when you attend an all-girls finishing school? The only reason I'm here is because I really don't have any parents. According to my adoptive parents that shipped me here every year all year, I didn't have a dad. But I did have a mom that was mentally unstable. Weird.

My name is Keller Frost, not my real name, but I have no idea what my real last name is. I'm twelve years old and currently attending Worthington Girls Academy.

"Hey Keller what are doing this summer?" Stella asked me as we walked into the cafeteria…I mean, dining hall.

I just shrugged. I would probably be doing the same thing I did every summer. Sit at home in my parents mansion listening to them plan my summer for me. Ballroom dancing, a must for a well to- do- young lady. Then there is always the coming out parties even though I'm not even thirteen yet. My summers in general suck.

"You should come with me to my summer camp, I'll bet you'd have a ball." She smiled that perfect smile of hers.

In some ways I was jealous of Stella. She was perfect in every sense of the word. Perfect blond hair that spiraled into perfect curls. Her skin was flawless tan skin and chocolate brown eyes. And of course, she had a perfect figure even though she was only twelve. When I first met her I thought she was like all the other air heads, but she turned out to be very down to earth. But then there's me, with my ivory skin and my dark, sandy blond hair that stuck out like a sore thumb among the platinum blonds. I had slightly dark eyes and was kinda tall. I wouldn't say I was ugly, but I wasn't beautiful either.

"You go to summer camp?" I gave her a puzzled look.

"Yeah I started going two years ago and it's fun. Why?"

I looked down at my food. "You just don't seem like the type to go camping that's all."

She just kept smiling. "Think about it." Her tone was suddenly serious. Something about her them made me feel like I wanted to run. And this wasn't my usual constant need to move due to my ADHD. This was different. This wasn't right. And this wasn't normal behavior from Stella La Bode.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been a week since Stella asked me to go to camp with her and I hadn't given a reply to that yet. Mostly because I knew that the parental units would faint at the idea of me spending two months in a dirty camp and playing in the dirt. OK, so I doubt they had kids just randomly playing in the dirt, but still.

But I let the thought of summer camp slip my mind because today was the very last day of school. All I wanted to do was sleep through the rest of my classes and get on a train home. That is, until Stella sat behind me in English.

"So Keller, what do you say?" she poked me with each word.

"About what?" I pretended to forget, hoping that she would just let it drop. I didn't really have the heart to decline her offer.

"About camp! Don't tell me you forgot!" she asked with a fake pained expression on her face.

I looked at her for a moment, feeling a strange alarm go off in my head. "Well…"

Then a huge explosion erupted on the side of the classroom and the window shattered. Everyone started screaming and running and panicking. Everyone except for Stella, who was now jumping on her desk pulling a dagger out of her bag.

"Where'd you get a dagger?" I screamed as I looked to the hole in the wall. Climbing into it was a dragon, with three heads and each one looked deadly. "What is that?"

Stella yelled at me. "KELLER GET DOWN!"

I didn't even think twice about it. I dove under a nearby desk just as the dragon blew fire into the classroom. Everything was on fire, everything was hot, and I was scared stiff. I felt a hand grab my upper arm and drag me out from my hiding place.

"We have to go, like now!" Stella said as she dragged me out of the burning classroom and into the hall.

"Where are we going?" I said trying to catch my breath. My head was spinning, the fumes that I had inhaled were making everything I saw blurry.

"To the roof, a few friends of mine are meeting us there." She said as she held the dagger in front of her as though she would pounce on anything that posed a threat to us.

"The roof? Are you nuts? That thing can easily get to us up on the roof!" I reasoned.

We stopped around a corner to catch our breaths. "So you did see that monster?" she asked.

"Of course I saw it! How could I have missed it? It just blew up an entire wall!" I said loudly.

"You need to calm down, you're wasting your energy by yelling." She said while she looked around the corner and down the hall.

I nodded. "Then let's go, the stairs are over there." She pointed to a door that had a sign that read "**OROF CNTEANRE**" damn dyslexia. We ran to the door and up the stairs. I suddenly heard a roar as we approached the door at the top.

"Looks like he found my friends first." She said with a playful smile.

I frowned. "That's not good! Now they're in trouble!" What was she thinking?

"Don't worry, they can take care of themselves. They're here to protect you after all."

That made me stop dead in my tracks right outside the door. "Me?"

Stella tried to keep me going but I wouldn't budge. "Stella tell me what's going on."

She looked worried as she heard a scream from the roof. "We don't have right now, but I'll explain everything when we get out of here." She looked to the door and back to me. "Please just trust me."

I didn't know what made me trust her, but I ran with her out the door to see two kids stabbing the dragon in the chest. All at once it turned to golden dust and blew away in the wind. The tallest one turned to us, he looked so familiar, but not because he looked like someone I might have seen at random. He looked like me, a lot like me, so much that it was scary. He had the same look on his face as he studied my face. The girl came up behind him. She was around my age, but taller, tanner, and with surfer blond hair.

"Hi I'm Annabeth Chase." She shook my hand and put a hand on the guys shoulder. He looked a few years older than Annabeth. "This is my good friend Luke Castellan."

We just stood there starring at each other. This had to be a mere spur of luck that we looked so similar. I just smiled and said "I'm Keller Frost, nice to meet you." But that's when Luke frowned, he looked scary. That's when I knew something was wrong.


	3. Chapter 3

This was probably the most awkward few minutes of my life. He stood still and just looked at my face, every inch of it. Like he was making sure he got every detail in. And here I am just looking back into his eyes like a moron. I want to look away, but something in my head says not to. Soon Annabeth started looking at me too; she was the one to say it first.

"Wow. You too look a lot alike." she said with a small smile. "Maybe she's a child of Hermes."

That broke my attention off Luke. "Hermes? Like the Greek god in mythology?" I said and I heard the rumbling of thunder in the distance.

Annabeth looked up and glared at the sky and then looked back to me. "I wouldn't say that too loud, they don't like to be called myths."

"Who's 'they'?"

She rolled her eyes and muttered. "She's definitely not a child of Athena."

I frowned, I wasn't very good at school because of my ADHD and my dyslexia, but I knew something about mythology. And I knew that Athena was known for being the wisest and smartest goddess. In short, Annabeth had just called me an idiot.

"What's this all about anyway?"

"We'll explain when we get there; we need to go before any other monsters show up." Stella said from behind me. "We need to move before any more monsters show up."

"But I have to go home, my parents will get mad if I don't" I said trying to get them to let me walk away from all of this.

Annabeth put an arm around my shoulders. "Look, Keller was it?" I nodded. "Monsters are going to keep showing up around you. We need to get you somewhere safe so it won't happen. If you go home the monsters will just follow you there. Do you want your parents to get hurt?"

For a moment, I actually wanted to say that I didn't care. They never cared about my safety or about me at all. They never wanted me to just be me, they wanted their dream daughter. And I was never going to be her. But then I had a little voice in my head that told me that I was being harsh. Because they did feed me, cloth me, and sent me to one of the best schools in New York.

Finally I said "No." She smiled at me.

"Then let's get going everyone." Annabeth said as she dragged me to a couple of horses-no, these horses had wings. "Who do want to ride with?"

I looked over at Luke who was preparing the pegasus for flight. I think he didn't like me much so I turned to Stella.

"Can I go with you?"

'Sure!" she hugged me tightly. Normally I wasn't a person who let anyone touch me let alone hug me. But Stella had always been different; when she hugged me I didn't want to punch her. Maybe it had something to do with this whole Greek thing.

We hopped on, Stella and me on one and Annabeth and Luke on the other. I got this feeling that Annabeth and Luke were close. But I kept my thoughts to myself, as I often did.

As we flew over New York, Annabeth told me about the place we were going. It was a camp for demigod children, kids who have a godly parent. It was called camp Half Blood. It shocked me only slightly though. Seeing as today I was attacked by a dragon, saved by kids with swords, and was now flying on the back of a mythical creature. That and the fact that somewhere, deep down inside of me, I knew I was different.

"So how do you know who your parent is?"

"When we get to camp your parent will claim you, but they decide how long it will take. For some they are claimed right away, for others, it takes a while." Stella said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Who are your parents?" I asked them before I could stop myself. It felt rude to be so blunt, but curiosity burned inside me.

"I'm a daughter of Athena, the goddess of wisdom and thought." Annabeth said proudly. "They call me 'wise girl' because of it."

"Aphrodite is my mom if you couldn't tell already." Stella smiled her bright smile. I felt really stupid; of course she was the goddess of love's daughter. Who else could she possibly belong to?

Luke was quiet for a moment, and then he spoke. "I'm a son Hermes, god of travelers and thieves." He said with a hint of bitterness.

I wondered why he was acting like this. As if sensing my question, Stella whispered quietly in my ear.

"Luke and his dad don't really get along; best to avoid the subject if you can."

I nodded slightly and looked to the ground as we made our descent. We landed next to a large farm house with a wrap-around porch. Stella helped me get down and we all made our way to the house. There sat a man in a wheel chair, a boy with legs of goat, and a man that seemed to radiant power.

The man in the chair made his way over to me and smiled.

"Welcome to Camp half Blood Ms-?"

"Frost. Keller Frost." I reached out a hand for him to shake; only after being caught slightly off guard by my gesture did he shake my hand.

"Well Ms. Frost I'm Chiron, the trainer of heroes. This fellow here goes by the name of Grover." He pointed to the guy with goat legs. I opened my mouth to ask, but Chiron got to it first. "He is a satyr." I closed my mouth. "And this is Mr. D, he is our camp's director." He motioned to the man in the leopard print shirt. Mr. D did not look up to me or even acknowledged my presence. Well he didn't seem very nice.

"I think we should get you into a cabin, then maybe Stella can give you a tour of the camp." Chiron said looking at Stella and Luke. "Put her in cabin eleven."

I looked confused but followed Luke and Stella anyway, leaving Annabeth with Chiron. I had a feeling this was going to be a long summer.


	4. Chapter 4

As we walked around camp Stella pointed out all the major spots like the training arena, the stables, the dining area, the campfire pit, and the strawberry fields.

"Why do you have strawberry fields?" I asked.

"We export some of the best strawberries all over the country. It's what pays our expenses." Stella explained. "Mr. D's kids take care of the fields so they turn out perfect." She pointed to a pair of rather good looking twin boys standing alone in the fields. They were making the plants grow around them.

"How are they doing that?"

"It's one of their powers. Each god has powers that their kids can take on."

Then it clicked in my head. "Mr. D is a god right?"

She nodded. "Dionysus, god of wine. Don't get him mad though or he'll make your life hell."

Good to know.

Luke was still avoiding my gaze, every time I looked in his direction he would turn his head. Did I do something wrong? I only met the guy a couple of hours ago. Surely he couldn't hate me already?

We ended up at a giant group of cabins, each different from the other. I had to admit, they all looked cool.

"These are the cabins and each one has a god as a patron. Depending who claims you that is where you'll live. There's my cabin!" Stella squealed as she pointed to a very pink cabin with flowers and a white picket fence. It made me feel sick to look at it. Even more so to look at the kids surrounding it. A lot of perfectly built and beautiful girls a few gorgeous guys.

"But I'm not claimed yet. Where am I supposed to go?" I asked nervously.

Stella pouted. "If it were up to me I would let you stay with me. But according to the rules you have to go to the Hermes cabin"

"Why Hermes?"

"Because he is the god of travelers, he is duty bound to take unclaimed demigods as they are waiting to be claimed." Luke said in a low voice. Stella wasn't kidding, Luke really didn't like his dad. I wonder why?

"It's going to be a little crowded since there are a lot of kids who are unclaimed." Stella said as she pulled me to cabin eleven.

She wasn't kidding. The entire cabin was filled with noisy kids and a variety of others. All the bunks had been taken leaving the floor covered in cots and sleeping bags. One was rolled up in the corner with a bag on top of it.

"That's yours over there. It's not much but…" Luke started.

I cut him off with a hug that surprised me as much as it did him. "It's wonderful, thank you."

For the first time since I met him, he actually smiled. He had such a warm smile, it made me feel oddly safe.

I pulled away and looked back into the cabin. Suddenly, I felt very tired. Stella noticed it too. "You can rest here before dinner. I believe the rest of the cabin has sword practice next?" she asked Luke.

"That's right. By the way I'm the senior counselor for the Hermes cabin. If you need anything don't be afraid to ask." He said to me before facing everyone else. "Alright everyone, it's time for sword practice!" he shouted over the noise. I heard a collective groan, but everyone got up and left the cabin after him. When the door shut I finally relaxed.

I never knew why, but I liked being alone. I think it's because I can actually collect my thoughts or maybe I just like not having to deal with people. I unrolled my sleeping bag and crawled into it. It was actually very comfortable. But looking around the cabin again, taking in all the sleeping bags and cots and stuff made me sad. What if I didn't get claimed? What if my parent really doesn't care about me?

These were the thoughts I fell asleep to. My first peaceful sleep in ages. I thought it was funny. I could never sleep in my eight hundred dollar bed at home, but in a small sleeping bag I could. Oh the irony.

-Later-

I was shaken awake by an annoyingly perky voice.

"It's time for dinner! Get up, get up!"

Slowly opening my eyes I found a small girl wearing pig tails and a pink dress. I had seen her earlier when I first entered the cabin.

"Luke told me to wake you for dinner!" she smiled. A little, perfect smile.

"Thanks. Who are you?"

"I'm Katie Jones, undetermined."

"Keller Frost, same."

She smiled again, she smiled a lot. Katie might be unclaimed now, but I could see her going to Aphrodite's cabin in the future.

We walked the short distance to the dining area where Katie told me about sacrificing a part of my food to the gods. She led me to the Hermes table which was by far the noisiest table there.

"Hey." I said as I sat next to Luke.

"Wow, who's the hottie?" a boy also a little older than me said.

Luke scowled at him and the boy backed off, for a second. "I'm Connor Stroll and you are?"

"Keller Frost." I said politely.

"So Keller, do you like pranks? We have a really good one set up if you're interested." He asked.

"Um, I'm not much for pranks. I think they can be a waste of time." I said. It wasn't a complete lie. I did in fact not like them at all. They were for immature people with too much time on their hands. But I never said I wasn't good at pulling them. I am very clever and can use that for anything, especially pulling pranks. But I'm not that sneaky and usually can be caught fast.

He looked away as if he had lost interest. We walked to get our food and then went to the fire pit at the front of the tables. One by one the people in front of me offered part of their food and walked away. When it was my turn I took a rice crispy treat that was dripping marshmallow.

_I offer this to my parent in hopes they are watching over me and will claim me soon. Also to Hermes for letting my take refuge in your cabin. I hope you like marshmallows, it's really gooey!_

I prayed silently and tip the treat into the fire. It didn't smell as bad as I thought it would. I went back to the table and eat the rest of my dinner in silence.

It was later that night as I walked around camp that I noticed a kid with dark hair and green eyes. Feeling friendly I walked over to him.

"Hi." I said as he turned to look at me.

"Hello, you must be new. I'm Percy, son of Poseidon. I'm kinda new here too, only been here a week and a half." He smiled and laughed slightly.

"Nice to meet you Percy. I'm Keller, undetermined." I said trying to hold a smile. He had been here only for a short time and he had been claimed. But all those kids in my cabin looked like they had been there for ages. It made me slightly angry, but hey, it wasn't this kid's fault.

"So where you headed?" he asked.

"Somewhere to think I guess. Any suggestions?"

He shrugged. "I always find the beach a place to collect my thoughts. No one is usually there at this time of night so it's quiet."

I thought about it. "Sounds great, thanks Percy." I walked off towards the edge of camp where sat a beautiful lake.

Percy had been right, the quiet mixed with soft tumble of the waves on the shore felt calming. That was, before I heard angry voices coming from down the shore. Curiosity once again got a hold of my will power and I walked towards the voices.

"You have no right to be here!" came one voice, one that I could tell right away was Luke's.

"I most certainly do. There's no reason to be angry with me Luke, I'm here because I care," said a totally unknown voice. It sounded like it was trying be calm and it held a slight pleading sound. Maybe it held a little sadness too.

"Care? You've never cared!" Luke shouted.

Now that I was closer I could see Luke standing in front of a man who looked to be in his thirties wearing a jogging suit. He was, to be blunt, an exact clone of Luke, but older. Who was he?

He had a worn and sad face. 'Yes I have and I do care. You are my son, my boy. I will always care about you."

Wait. Did he just say son? If Luke was his son, then that meant…he was Hermes. But he looked normal, except for the cell phone in his hand that was coiled with snakes.

"I don't care what you got to say! Just stay away from me and stay away from her! She doesn't need you to mess up her life1" Luke spat at him, which seemed to sadden the god. If it was me I would have been mad to have been talked to like that. But Hermes just stood there like Luke had shoved a sword through his heart.

"Fine. I will go for now. But I will be back Luke, she has the right to know." Hermes said calmly.

"She has the right to a normal life." Luke hissed.

Hermes turned to walk away. " It's a little late for that." He said quietly as he sped off with the speed of a god.

When I was sure he was gone I walked up to Luke.

"Hey."

He turned on his heel to look at me.

"Keller? How long have you been here?" he asked, his eyes slightly wide.

I thought it over for second and decided it was best to lie. I wasn't very sneaky, but I was a natural lair. "Just got here, I thought a little walk would be goof before bed." I smiled to assure him.

He bought my act and relaxed greatly. "Well I should warn you that Mr. D has Harpies that patrol the camp after curfew, so it would be best if we got back." He said not smiling.

As we walked back to the cabin my head was still spinning by what I had heard.


	5. Chapter 5

It had only been two days after the beach scene when I was woken up one morning by an annoyed Luke.

"Let's go Keller, it's time for archery practice." He said as he shook my shoulder.

"Five more minutes." I muttered trying to cover my head with my blanket. I was not a morning person and being woken up at eight was not pleasant.

The shaking stopped and I thought he had given up. But then I felt the side of my sleeping bag rising and it was suddenly ripped out from under me. I fell to the floor with a soft thud. Looking up I saw Luke with a small smile.

"You're evil." I said shortly as I got up to go shower.

"You're impossible." He replied.

I rolled my eyes and went to the bathroom that was surprisingly empty for a cabin that was overflowing with kids. I took a quick shower, brushed my hair, and got dressed. When I stepped out Luke was sitting on his bunk waiting.

"You didn't have to stay. I could've found my way to practice." I said slightly annoyed, but mostly happy that he cared to stay.

"On your second day? What kind of counselor would I be to leave you helpless?"

"I'm not helpless!" I shouted with fake anger.

He just shook his head and we headed down to the shooting range. As we walked I looked at the other cabins and saw other campers getting to their activities as well. The Aphrodite cabin smelled of perfume and hairspray that made me choke as we passed it. At one of the windows I saw Stella waving at me. I smiled at her and gave a small wave. I wonder how much time it takes her in the morning to get ready?

We arrived at the range with the entire cabin already there and goofing around. The Stroll brothers were talking quietly among themselves while looking at a couple of Demeter kids. I saw a gleam in their eyes and I could tell they were up to no good. But hey, what else is a child of Hermes to do?

"Alright everyone." Luke shouted switching to his command voice. "I want arrows flying now!"

As expected the campers got into lines in front of targets and started shooting. I started walking to the back of one of the lines when Luke grabbed my arm.

"I want to see what your talents are." He said. I was still confused. He dragged me to an unoccupied target and gave me an arrow and a bow.

"Don't be nervous, I just need to know where you're strong and where you need improvement."

"But I've never shot an arrow before." I said quietly. The arrow in my hand was looking really intimidating.

"Just relax, every new camper has to try their strengths, it's the first step to making us better heroes."

_But I never wanted to __**be **__a hero!_

A small voice in my head screamed. It was the same voice that yelled when my parents told me that everything they did was to make me a proper young lady. Just like back home, it seemed no one cared what I wanted.

Luke showed me how to string the arrow and then stepped away. I pulled back, took careful aim, and released. In the distance I heard the arrow make contact with the target. Right on the bulls eye.

Everyone was cheering for me, the Strolls brothers chanted my name, and Luke patted me hard on the back. Strangely, I felt a small smile crawl onto my face. It wasn't because I was happy about hitting the mark or the people that were giving me thumbs up. No it was the fact that Luke was proud of me. And I didn't understand why that made me so happy.

Practice ended and we headed to lunch with the other cabins. We got our food and sacrificed our portions as normal. Although I didn't see it as completely 'normal' yet. As we ate the cabin was talking about my first practice and how it surprised them that I had hit the mark.

"That was amazing!" Katie said as she bit into her apple. She had stuck to me like glue since practice. Almost like a little sister would.

"Yeah you could easily be a daughter of Apollo." Jimmy Nicolson pointed out. Luke, I noticed, chuckled slightly. I didn't ask him about it.

I actually forgot about being claimed. Between the scene at the beach last night and the archery this morning, I didn't have much room to think about anything else. But now that I remembered, I felt slightly upset. Maybe my parent didn't want me. Just maybe…I wasn't good enough to be claimed. A single tear slid down my cheek before I could stop it.

Then something unbelievable happened.

People turned their heads away from their conversations and some even gasped. Above my head, shining brightly was a caduceus.

Chiron stood up from the high table. "All hail Keller Frost, daughter of Hermes god of travelers.

It was then that I promptly and completely lady like, fainted.


	6. Chapter 6

I woke up to find myself in a bed in a room with multiple beds and soft lighting. Looking up at the ceiling I tried to remember what had brought me here. Only little bits of my memory flashed through my aching head. I had been at dinner with my table, we were talking, and I cried a little. And then…then…people had looked at me. Stared at me, like I was a freak or something. But why? What had I done?

Oh. Oh yeah, that's why. I had been claimed by Hermes. Hermes, the god Luke couldn't stand. And Luke, he's my half-brother. I have a sibling. In fact I have a whole cabin full of sibling or could be siblings! What a way to be after twelve years of not having one single sibling.

A knock on the door snapped me out of my thoughts.

"You're awake." Luke said as he entered, carrying a glass of some strange liquid.

"Yeah." I replied nervously. Now that I knew we were related, I felt self-conscience. As if I would have to act like a sister instead of a friend.

He just nodded silently and handed me the glass. I took a sip and it tasted like melted white chocolate against my tongue. The glass was empty within a minute.

"Did you like it?"

"It was fantastic! What is it?"

"Nectar. The drink of the gods. Half- bloods can only have a little or else we'll born up." He explained, not looking me in the eye.

"Oh." Was my smart reply. We sat in awkward silence for who knows how long. Before I finally spoke. "So…I guess I'm your sister. Sort of."

"Yeah." He said still not looking at me.

I couldn't hold it back anymore. I had to ask. "Why do hate Hermes so much?"

He snapped his head to me, his eyes questioning.

"I sort of lied to you that night on the beach." I said as I noticed for the first time how long my fingernails were. "I heard your conversation with Hermes."

"How much?" he said darkly.

"I think just the end. By the time I walked in you were screaming and he was leaving."

His face lightened considerable.

"I'm sorry I overheard. I really was just out for a walk when I came across you two."

I thought he would get mad or scream. But he just started laughing, he actually laughed!

"What's so funny?" I asked.

He smiled at me. "You're such a good liar. I mean, I'm head of a cabin full of liars and I have been for a long time. But you actually fooled me. I guess it's because you look so innocent."

"I don't like lying, but sometimes it's the only way to avoid confrontation." I muttered. I felt so guilty.

"It's alright, you don't have to be sorry. To answer your first question, our father and I never really got along. He's never been there for any of his children. I was just the first to point it out."

He seemed more angry than sad.

"Why has he never been around?" I asked.

"The gods aren't supposed to be in contact with their children. But the way I see it, if any of them truly cared they would see us anyway." He turned to me. "He's never been to see you has he?" I shook my head. "That's because he doesn't care about you or any of us. No matter how much he says he does."

I looked at him for a second. "Since I got here and found I had a parent I never knew. I don't know, I thought that they would actually listen to me and care about what I had to say about my life. Like my adoptive parents never did." I said quietly.

He ruffled my hair slightly with a sad smile. "I'm sorry kid, but I'm always here to listen."

My head started to spin again. Could it be true? Did Hermes really not care about me at all? He looked so concerned about Luke on the beach. I thought he would be the parent I never had at home, one that might actually care about me. One that was proud that I was who I was.

I needed to talk to Hermes.

-That Night-

I walked to the beach again, this time making sure that no one else was around. This was the only place I could think of to be alone. The only place I could feel free enough to try.

"Da-Hermes? I don't know if you can hear me, but I need to talk to you." I said.

Then I waited, but all was silent. Even the wind had stopped blowing for the moment. How were you supposed to contact the gods anyway?

"Alright, even if you can't or won't talk to me then at least send me a sign. To let me know you're listening. You claimed me; acknowledge me as your child. You didn't have to, but you did." Then I got more confidence. From where I have no idea. I stuck my hands on my hips and looked up to the sky. "I deserve an answer. You talk to Luke and I am your child too."

For minutes I waited for something, anything! But no there was nothing that told me he had heard me. With a heavy heart filled with knowing that Luke had been right, I started to storm away from the beach.

"Men never give you any straight answers!" I shouted.

"You sound so much like your mother used to." A voice chuckled behind me.

I slowly turned around to see the same man in a jogging suit, holding a cell phone with snakes. He was smiling at me and for the second time that day I felt like crying. But I didn't.

"Hermes?" I asked cautiously.

The smile somewhat. "I guess it's a little early to expect you to call me dad."

I shrugged. "Don't take it personally. I call my adoptive parents by their names too."

We looked at each other for a while, much like Luke and I did the first time we met. Like father like son I guess.

"You look so much like your mother. Except for your hair and eyes." He commented.

"And you look like Luke's clone." I joked. But then my smile faded too. "I have to ask you something."

He nodded. I took a deep breath.

"I have been told certain things by certain people." I began.

"By Luke." He said. My eyes widen.

"I didn't say it was Luke."

"You also didn't deny it either."

I gulped. "Fair enough. He told me that it wasn't the rule about not being in contact with your children that kept you away. He says it's because you don't care about any of us."

I saw sadness take his eyes, like what they had been when he was talking with Luke.

"As much as I want to believe Luke, I can't believe that." His eyes brightened again and I knew I had his attention. "I believe that everyone is kind, even in the smallest amount. And I believe that the only reason you would stay away is if you had no other choice."

I walked slowly to him. My eyes fixed on his.

"I want to know if my assumption is right or if Luke has told me the cold truth about my life." I stated calmly.

Without any noise tears started rolling down the god's face. It was then that it hit me. Gods, no matter how much they acted superior, they were just as mortal as anyone. Then he hugged me, something I only allowed Stella to do.

"I have always loved you, ever since you were born. There is a rule saying we have to stay away. But I've broken it to see Luke occasionally. It's been hard with Luke considering his situation."

"I believe you." I whispered.

That was the first time in years that I felt like I was actually heard.


	7. Chapter 7

Nothing in my life was making any sense to me.

One. I'm a demigod at a camp for children of the gods.

Two. Up until a few days ago I was unclaimed and thought I still had a chance at a loving parent.

Three. Luke, my cabin's senior counselor and my new friend, hates his dad Hermes.

Four. I'm claimed by Hermes, the god Luke can't stand most of all.

Five. He tells me that Hermes could care less about my existence.

Six. I meet Hermes and he tells me almost the complete opposite of what Luke said.

Seven. Luke has never given me a single reason to doubt his word.

Eight. I do anyways.

Yeah, it's for sure. My life has quickly become hell. And yes I know everyone uses the term Hades. But I wouldn't want my name used like that so I don't use his.

It's now a week since I met with Hermes and I feel as though something bad is going to happen any day now. Especially since Percy left on a quest with Annabeth and Grover early this morning. I hear that only one person has ever come back from their quest alive. That was Luke and it had been a few years since then. Needless to say that I was nervous. Percy and I weren't the best of friends, but I didn't want him dead either.

However bad my life was at this point, it wasn't all bad. Over the short time I'd been at camp, I've gotten close to a certain guy. A guy by the name of Michael Yew, head counselor of the Apollo cabin. When I mean close, I mean skinny jeans to skin close. Of course, we haven't told anybody. Not yet anyhow.

We were in the woods, having a little alone time. I liked these moments when it felt like we were the only ones in the entire world. I mean, the only thing we did was kiss because we were still young, but hey, take what you get. It was absolute bliss, until it ended very, very badly.

"What do you think you're doing?" came a dark, angry voice in front of us.

Our faces broke apart, my inner voice whining as we did. But looking at our new visitor made my heart stop.

Luke was standing there, his face red and his fists clenched. Oh shit.

"Um…" was all Michael could muster. The boy might be brave in battle, but I couldn't blame him for being afraid of Luke. **I** was afraid of Luke right now.

"We were just..." and that's where my brilliant excuse stopped.

Luke grabbed my arm and yanked me away from Michael who didn't move an inch. His eyes were wide and looking afraid.

"GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!" Luke yelled.

Michael didn't need to be told twice. He ran at full speed out of the woods without looking back. I wish I could do the same. But no, I was once again being dragged by Luke towards the cabins. Most of which were empty because of training going on. Michael and I had skipped archery seeing as we were both good enough to miss a day.

"What in Hades were you thinking?" he snarled at me as we walked.

I glared at him. "It's none of your business who I kiss just for the record."

That made him stop.

"I'm your brother and I have a right to keep you safe."

"Michael isn't dangerous and your acting like an idiot!" I snapped and pulled my arm away.

"I know a little more than you do and you should just trust what I'm saying."

That made me angry. "So I'm just to listen to every word that comes out of your mouth and believe it without question? Is that really what you're trying to tell me?"

"No it's not! But I do what I do for your own good."

We were almost at the cabin now. This was good, because I didn't want to punch him in public. My anger boiled over.

"I don't need you watching out for me! I'm not a baby and I will kiss whoever the hell I want when I feel like it! I've looked after myself for as long as I can remember and I do a good job at it! It's not your place to tell me what to do, you're not my father!" I was on a roll and I didn't feel like stopping. "And speaking of our father, I met him a while ago. And he doesn't appear to the cold hearted bastard you've made him out to be! Where do you get off telling me he doesn't care! If he didn't he wouldn't have come to talk to me would he?" I finished.

Luke stood there stunned. His mouth had fallen open and the anger that was there before had melted from his face.

"Keller…" he began, but I didn't want to hear it.

"Don't you 'Keller' me you jerk!" I screamed loudly and stomped my way into the cabin and slammed the door.

He didn't follow me in. And when I woke the next morning, his bed hadn't been slept in.


End file.
